Forever Home Foundation
Forever Home Foundation
About
Founded in 2021 by Occupational Therapist Erica Harvitt, Forever Home Foundation was built to support existing programs with funding and volunteers necessary to provide their services. These programs are all grassroots organizations, run by members of the community that they serve. They provide basic necessities: food, water, clothing, education, and housing to orphaned and abandoned children and young women in impoverished areas. Our long-term goal is a house in the US to take in teens and sibling groups who struggle to be adopted. A forever home.
ESUBI Program
ESUBI means 'hope' in Luganda.
I'm Erica Harvitt, a traveling Occupational Therapist, and I am on a mission to get these 27 young women in Uganda to become financially independent, happy, savvy, business women.
Founded by our partner, Hope Empowers, each of these young women were found in dissolute circumstances, some near death, near Kampala, Uganda.
Some are trapped in non-chosen plural marriages, some are in abusive homes, some have young children of their own, and all of them are living in such extreme poverty, that the only meal they get in a day will be from coming to school. They are living in crumbling abandoned structures with no pluming, electricity or water.
They need our help to succeed.
The program is divided into 2 paths:
Beautician or Seamstress.
The girls have the first 6 months of this year to learn, experience internships, and sit for their licensure exam.
In June, I will be flying back to Uganda to work with them directly on building a storefront for them to learn business, find their niche, and build a clientele.
The goal is to have these girls building their own business, while generating funds for micro-loans for the next cohort of girls in the program.
Meanwhile, we provide for their fundamental needs- food, water, hygiene, safety, shelter and basic medical care. (As well as a little joy :)
It costs $660 per girl for the one year long program. An additional $250 provides her housing for the year.
Our 2024 Focus Project
Sponsor a Young Woman
Selecting a young woman to sponsor provides her with all costs of her trade program and certification, plus one year of food, water, hygiene, housing and basic medical care.
To show their gratitude, you will receive a personal letter and updates from your sponsee. Sponsorships from groups such as couples, co-workers, schools etc. are a great way to learn about another culture!
(After you choose, let us know who you're sponsoring here.)
Elizabeth
Elizabeth is a young woman who had to leave school in the 3rd grade after having seizures from epilepsy. Since her mother couldn't financially provide for her, she left to find work and met the father of her children. After she gave birth to her first son, he became abusive and sent her away, as did her mother. When she went back to the man, he had another 'wife'. She has no option but to stay with them in the remnants of a building with no water, electricity or food on most days.
Sponsor a Project
ESUBI Store Front
In June we will open up 2 storefronts for the girls graduating from the programs- one for hairstyling and one for tailoring. The girls will learn business, find their unique niches and build clientele, before setting off into their new careers. This storefront is built to be passed on the the next cohort of graduating young women and be self-sustaining by 2026.
Funds Needed:
$1,500 to set up the tailoring shop
$2,900 to set up the beauty salon
Sponsorship
All contributions are tax-deductible under 501c3 not-for-profit organization status. Receipts are issued automatically via our GoFundMe page. If you are sponsoring a specific child or young woman, please fill out this short contact form to receive updates from them.
Our Partners
